The moves haven’t been glamorous or awe-inspiring, but the San Diego Padres have elected for the strong and silent type.

The Padres were one of the better teams in the National League in the second half last season. In an attempt to build on that they have signed Carlos Quentin and Huston Street to extensions, refused to trade third baseman Chase Headley this offseason and will rely on young, developing players to fill out their lineup.

Freddy Garcia has signed a minor-league deal with the San Diego Padres. (AP Photo)

In the rotation, the Padres came into the new year confident they were set with arms and general manager Josh Byrnes told MLB.com “I think we’re covered” because he said the team had “eight or nine guys who could start a game in April.”

But on Monday he signed 36-year old right-hander Freddy Garcia to a minor league deal, as first reported by ESPN.com, to add depth and possibly upgrade from what was already in place. This gives the Padres as many as nine players competing for rotation spots this spring. It should be an interesting camp and a March schedule filled with back-field scrimmages and “B” games in order to find innings for everyone.

The Garcia deal isn’t going to steal headlines, but it creates more competition and it’s a good move for a team with limited financial resources. Garcia wasn’t very good last season with the New York Yankees (5.20 ERA in 107 1/3 innings), but in 2011 he went 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA and a 119 ERA-plus for the Yankees. In 2012, he had his highest strikeout rate since 2007 (7.5 per nine innings), and his 1.5 homers allowed per nine (his highest rate since 2008) can be partly attributed to Yankee Stadium and the American League East.

Putting Garcia, a fly-ball pitcher, in Petco Park, even with the shrinking outfield, could produce another solid season on the cheap.